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WEDDING FOR CONVENIENCE Couple in fraudulent marriage charged
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Posted on Jan 31 2001
A local woman who apparently wed a foreign national to change his immigration status pled guilty yesterday to charges of conspiracy.
Rebecca Lynn Castro Azad and her husband Mohammed were charged with immigration fraud before the Superior Court. Mr. Azad reportedly fled the island after learning of the suit filed against him.
According to government prosecutor Harold Pickering, Mr. Azad in May 1999 made use of fraudulent documents, which he knew to be false, for his application for an “immediate relative” immigration status in the Commonwealth.
The application was based on his May 26, 1998 marriage to Ms. Azad.
The prosecution has dubbed the union a “sham” where parties got married for the sole purpose of obtaining for Mr. Azad an immediate relative immigration status in the CNMI.
According to documents submitted to the court, Mr. Azad agreed to pay Ms. Azad an undisclosed amount of money to entice her to marry him allegedly for convenience.
But Ms. Azad, during her plea bargain hearing yesterday, claimed she never received any financial payment in exchange for the marriage with Mr. Azad.
As the hearing went on, the court learned that the defendant had a live-in partner who was not Mr. Azad since and during the time of their marriage.
Ms. Azad also bore another child in addition to her brood of three with her current boyfriend while still legally married to Mr. Azad.
The prosecution has asserted that Mr. Azad’s submission of application to the Division of Immigration was a fraudulent, particularly since the defendant also knew the license presented was a fraudulent marriage.
The couple was charged earlier with seven counts of immigration fraud, conspiracy, false vehicle registration and perjury.
Superior Court Associate Judge Timothy H. Bellas has suspended the sentencing of Ms. Azad until Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 1:30 pm. (MM)
